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Chapter 25

The Doctor glimpsed around the corner as carefully as possible, spotting Clara already at her desk, scribbling notes down on a sheet of paper in a hurry. They desperately needed to talk and yet the Doctor found that his feet wouldn't budge. His throat felt dry and his palms were a little damp. He was scared.

After Clara had shouted at him the day before, the Doctor wasn't exactly sure how this conversation was going to go. Yes, they had slept together, but right now it seemed like a massive step backwards instead of forwards. It hadn't been the right time or the right circumstances and a part of him regretted how it had happened.

"Are you going to stand there all day or come in at some point?" Clara asked without even looking up, catching the Doctor a little off guard.

With no other choice left, the Doctor finally stepped inside, causing Clara to raise her head and look at him.

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about the other night," he said.

Clara's eyes widened a little. "You regret that it happened?"

"Not that. How," the Doctor took a small step closer until he came to a halt next to her desk, "The circumstances were wrong, that's why I'm sorry."

She nodded softly. "And I'm sorry I shouted at you. It wasn't your fault."

A silence spread between the two of them and the Doctor began to shuffle his feet a little nervously, trying to think of a way he could ask the question that was weighing on his mind most heavily.

"What about Danny?"

Clara took a sharp intake of breath. "He doesn't know. He can't ever know. It would break his heart."

"So you're going to stay with him?"

In a sudden movement Clara pushed her chair back and rose to her feet, pacing the floor in front of the window. The Doctor watched as she raised her hand to her mouth and started nibbling on her thumb. When she didn't reply for a while, he was beginning to get worried.

"That's the question, isn't it?" she looked at him, "And I don't know the answer to it. Danny and I had a fight before the party and I had though he'd broken up with me. Turns out he hadn't."

"Oh," he uttered in response. That explained a lot.

"I don't know what to do," Clara came to a halt and shrugged, "I have feelings for you both."

With no idea what else to do, the Doctor simply spread his arms and Clara seemed to understand immediately and stepped forward into his embrace. The moment he held her the Doctor knew that he never wanted to let go – but that maybe he would have to. Clara was so small and fragile in his arms right now that he was afraid to break her if he kept the game going. He wanted her, but what he wanted even more was for Clara to be happy. And if that was with Danny, he would need to step aside.

"I think we need to talk. Properly. Honestly," he said after a moment, "Not here and not now. Wait until everything has cooled down a little. Then I could try to get rid of Missy and we could talk over dinner where no one could overhear or interrupt us."

He felt Clara nod against his chest, but she didn't respond, so the Doctor simply held her while a question she had asked him went through his mind again.

"Basil," he said after a while.

Clara turned her head and looked up at him in confusion. "Beg your pardon?"

"You wanted to know my name. That's it. Basil. Basil Smith."

The Doctor was unsurprised when Clara snorted in reply. "That's ridiculous," she laughed.

"Well, guess why I go by the Doctor," he rolled his eyes.

Still laughing, Clara tightened her grip around his chest and nuzzled her face back against the fabric of his shirt. "Basil Smith," she mused, "Well, could have been worse. And I don't know what I expected from a man who wears underpants with Teletubbies on them."

"Okay, okay," the Doctor wriggled out of their embrace to look at Clara, "That wasn't my fault. That was Missy. She hid my underwear and left me with nothing but those ridiculous pants."

Clara cocked am eyebrow at him. "Are you telling me you're wearing something like that again? What's it today? Bob the Builder?" she giggled.

He scoffed. "Like I'm gonna tell you."

Suddenly Clara's face grew a lot more serious as she reached out to cup his face in her hands and went up on tiptoes to give him a peck on the lips. The Doctor hardly had time to take in the sensation of her touch and by the time he had realized what was happening, it was already gone.

"Thank you," Clara said sincerely.

The Doctor frowned at her in reply. "For what?"

"For cheering me up," she told him with a smile.

The place was sparkling. The Doctor had gone all out and done his best to make sure that there wasn't a single item of clothing lying around, no dirty plate in the sink, no water drop on the tap. Missy's house looked like a model home.

"Well, look at this place," Missy gasped when she stepped into the kitchen where the Doctor quickly hid the cleaning cloth behind his back, "This is what I call making an effort."

"I was hoping you'd like it," the Doctor grinned at her.

Missy observed him for a moment, taking in his appearance from head to toe. "Okay," she said after a moment, "You can have your underpants back. You've earned them."

"I've also ordered from your favourite take out service," he told her, not even trying to hide his pride.

Now Missy seemed to grow a little wary as she watched him. "Okay, out with it. What else do you want?"

The Doctor cleared his throat. "The house to myself for an evening. Clara and I need to talk and we can't do it at the university because someone might overhear us. This place is ideal."

"No," his friend said strictly.

"Please," the Doctor begged her, "I really need to talk to her in private."

"Well, you can, but you can't have my house. I'm not spending the night somewhere else just so you can get your love life back on track."

The Doctor let his shoulders sink. Missy had been his only hope and now his entire plan was ruined. How was he ever going to talk to Clara alone?

"Doctor, you do realize that I have all these empty houses that you could use without bothering anyone, including me?" Missy cocked an eyebrow at him.

Suddenly his eyes lit up.

"Yes," she confirmed, "I'll give you a key, but you're gonna leave the house as spotless as you find it, okay? I don't want any potential buyers stumbling over your pants."

"Thank you," he uttered quickly and stepped forward, pressing a swift kiss to her head, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"